It’s a tradition that dates back hundreds of years, where two stallions fight over a female to ring the Chinese new year. And when it’s the Year of the Horse, the fights are considered to be even more significant. They’re held in small villages across southern China and have been condemned by animal rights groups, including Hong-Kong based Animals Asia. But those who participate in the events defend the fights and insist they take care of the animals.

Pupils participate in a calligraphy contest to celebrate the New Year in Tokyo January 5, 2016. Over 3,000 calligraphers who qualified in competitions throughout Japan wrote resolutions or wishes onto paper sheets during the annual contest that marks the start of the new year, according to organizers. (Photo by Thomas Peter/Reuters)

Chinese Panda Yang Guang arrives at Edinburgh Airport on December 4, 2011 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Tian Tian and Yang Guang, a pair of eight-year-old giant pandas arrived on a specially chartered flight and will be the first to live in the UK for 17 years. Edinburgh Zoo are hopeful that the pandas will give birth to cubs during their 10 year stay in Scotland. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

A pregnant woman poses on June 19, 2018 in Vertou, western France. France had an estimated population of 68.4 million by January 1, 2024, representing a further year-on-year increase of 0.3 percent, limited by a marked drop in the birth rate, the INSEE national statistics bureau of France reported on January 16, 2024. In 2023, 678,000 babies were born in France, 6.6 percent fewer than the previous year, the lowest number of births in any year since 1946. Over the same period, there were 631,000 deaths, down 6.5 percent on 2022, a year marked by the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic and episodes of extreme heat. (Photo by Loic Venance/AFP Photo)

Contorsionist Rich Miteku performs during the opening of the 41st Monte-Carlo International Circus Festival in Monaco on January 19, 2017. (Photo by Valery Hache/AFP Photo)

Aoife Ni Heochaidh enjoys the sunrise as she welcomes winter solstice at the 5000-year-old stone age passage tomb of Newgrange in the Boyne Valley, as entry inside the chamber is closed for the second year due to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Newgrange, Ireland, December 21, 2021. (Photo by Clodagh Kilcoyne/Reuters)

A performer dressed as Empress Huang of the China's Forbidden City takes part in a musical performance at a shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur on January 22, 2017 as part of the upcoming Lunar New Year celebrations marking the Year of the Rooster. (Photo by Manan Vatsyayana/AFP Photo)

A Saudi police officer receives emergency calls at a call center, ahead of the Hajj pilgrimage in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, August 6, 2019. The hajj occurs once a year during the Islamic lunar month of Dhul-Hijja, the 12th and final month of the Islamic calendar year. (Photo by Amr Nabil/AP Photo)